New Burlington chief will be sworn in Tuesday

Published: Monday, April 29, 2013 at 05:47 PM.

Burlington’s new police chief will be sworn in by Alamance County Chief District Court Judge Jim Roberson on Tuesday afternoon at Burlington Police Department headquarters.

J. Jeffrey Smythe, 48, was hired at the beginning of April after a four-month search that yielded a field of six finalists from among 53 applicants from across the nation. His first day on the job is technically Wednesday, the same day Smythe’s predecessor, Mike Williams, retires after 26 years with the department, the last five as chief.

Assistant Chief Chris Verdeck said Smythe was in town Monday settling in, and requested that a more formal swearing-in ceremony take place later in May, after the rest of his family arrives in Burlington from Arizona. Smythe and his wife, Kimberly, have three children, Christopher, 22; Hayley, 15; and Jacquelin, 10.

Smythe has been in law enforcement for 27 years, and began as a dispatcher for the Arizona State University Police before he was offered a spot in the police academy and became a sworn officer in 1986. Smythe spent 1987 and 1988 working undercover in narcotics enforcement with the DEA, while at the university.

In 1989, Smythe became a “road cop” with the Scottsdale Police Department in Arizona and worked undercover in narcotics enforcement with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s taskforce.

Burlington’s new police chief will be sworn in by Alamance County Chief District Court Judge Jim Roberson on Tuesday afternoon at Burlington Police Department headquarters.

J. Jeffrey Smythe, 48, was hired at the beginning of April after a four-month search that yielded a field of six finalists from among 53 applicants from across the nation. His first day on the job is technically Wednesday, the same day Smythe’s predecessor, Mike Williams, retires after 26 years with the department, the last five as chief.

Assistant Chief Chris Verdeck said Smythe was in town Monday settling in, and requested that a more formal swearing-in ceremony take place later in May, after the rest of his family arrives in Burlington from Arizona. Smythe and his wife, Kimberly, have three children, Christopher, 22; Hayley, 15; and Jacquelin, 10.

Smythe has been in law enforcement for 27 years, and began as a dispatcher for the Arizona State University Police before he was offered a spot in the police academy and became a sworn officer in 1986. Smythe spent 1987 and 1988 working undercover in narcotics enforcement with the DEA, while at the university.

In 1989, Smythe became a “road cop” with the Scottsdale Police Department in Arizona and worked undercover in narcotics enforcement with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s taskforce.

Williams announced his retirement in late 2012. He said several factors contributed to his decision, but most importantly, he wants to be with his wife and help homeschool their three children.

Williams first joined Burlington police in 1986 as a patrol officer and served six years in the Patrol Division, then served in Vice/Narcotics, Criminal Investigations, Special Operations, Internal Affairs, Administration, was a member and eventually commander of the Special Response Team, and was an academy instructor before being appointed chief of police on Aug. 1, 2007.